Customer Reviews

SPQR VIII: The River God's Vengeance

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Roman tenement apartments fall down all the time and aedile Decius Caecilius Metellus figures this is just another straightforward prosecution of building code violations. But as he investigates, he discovers that the pattern of late Roman Republican corruption has spread even further into the city than he had imagined. The building collapse might not be just bad building materials, but premeditated murder. And his investigations put him in both physical danger and at odds with his powerful family. And then there are the filthy sewers. With the Tiber River set to flood, the sewers seem ready to back up. To a good Roman, the crimes threaten to go beyond criminal all the way to impious.

Decius makes a wonderful and memorable character with his offhand comments on Roman society, on figures like Caesar, Pompey, and Cicero that have become history, and with his strangely consistent attitudes toward corruption and friendship. This case pushes Decius outside of his comfort zone--making him deal with the one man he hates more than any other--the stuffy Cato. It also gives him plenty of opportunity to walk the streets of ancient Rome, dodge the gangs fighting for control of the dying republic, and give his pithy observations on the curious and fascinating social structures that made Rome work.

Author John Maddox Roberts does a fine job recreating a critical period in world history, delivering an interesting mystery that fits the historical period, and offering a fascinating first-person protagonist. I found myself laughing out loud at Decius's observations on his world--and his thoughts on humanity in general. Roberts's writing is fast-paced and compelling. I read the book in a single sitting then checked to make sure there weren't more books in the series that I need to get my hands on right away. I recommend THE RIVER GOD'S VENGEANCE to anyone who enjoys history, democratic government, or a rollicking good mystery.

Decius Quintus Caecilius Metellus is back for his eighth installment and JMR doesn't disappoint.
It's the interregnum of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio Nasica and our erstwhile hero is three months into his first aedileship having returned from Gaul from his previous outing with Julius Caesar. Being responsible for the maintenance of Rome's public buildings and highways he finds himself picking over the rubble of a collapsed insula, while some astute observations from Hermes, his irreverent personal slave, leads him to commence an investigation of a shoddy construction business that has claimed the lives of the slaves Galatea and Antaeus and over two hundred more inhabitants. And all this whilst he is preparing his own costly munera in order to fulfil his political ambition.
As ever, the culprits are somewhat higher up the political ladder than he initially thinks and several warnings from people including his own paterfamilias do not deter our sleuth with a reputation for intractable honesty from launching into a full investigation. Both he and Hermes work their way through dishonest construction foremen, previous aediles, censors, brothels, the Cloaca Maxima and the Forum before uncovering a crime of passion that was merely a pointer to a greater corruption. In the end the initial deaths were some what justified and Decius neatly sinks two great men during an eventful four days, during which the Tiber river floods ensuring, as Marcius Porcius Cato so neatly concludes: "the finest manifestation of divine will in my lifetime".
As ever there are an assortment of colourful characters including Caninus, Marcus Aemilius Scauras, Justus, Harmodias, Lucilius, Folius and Messala. With him are the Greek physician Asklepiodes and his wife Julia, niece of Caesar.
The cast move around Decius with slow inexorability as his Socratic sleuthing takes him into the mire of truth in a manner that is perfect to read. JMR took a long break after the opening novel of the SPQR series but his return in recent novels has proven a major success in the world of the ancient murder mystery. Whilst he showed the likes of Saylor and Davis what to do all those years ago, his newest efforts are right up their with them. Any fan of the genre must read and own JMR's SPQR series and I eagerly look forward to `The Princess and the Pirates'.

I found this to be another enjoyable entry in an entertaining series. The SPQR series is set in the last days of the Roman Republic, as powerful men, including Julius Caesar, Pompey, Crassus, and various lesser figures, including the heads of criminal gangs within the city of Rome, compete against each other to gain power over Rome. Each novel in the series fits a mystery plot into actual historical events of the period. The protagonist, a young nobleman who is an idealistic believer in the Republic, always fights hard not only to solve the mystery confronting him, but also to protect the Republic. An intrepid investigator, he invariably solves the mystery, but sees the Republic nevertheless growing ever more endangered as the series progresses.

While the main characters are not as strongly created as those in Lindsey Davis' somewhat similar mystery series, set later during the Roman Empire, the author's wryly humorous reinterpretations of Roman history and the figures who shaped it never fail to entertain.

In the City of Rome, Decius Caecilius Metellus assumed the aedilship. This office has no perks, is very expensive for the incumbent, and is very necessary if a citizen wants to rise high in the political system. The aedile has to make sure the sewers and drains are in working order, make sure the building contractors are kept honest, and inspect the brothels, the one bonus in the job.

When a new building suddenly collapses, killing over two hundred and fifty people and slaves, Decius is on the job acting as a modern day arson investigator. He sees that Lucius Folius and his wife, wealthy merchants in the building trade, were killed with their necks snapped. The slaves were cruelly whipped and bore deep scars as tight runaway collars on their necks. Holes were bored into the foundation of the building causing it to collapse. Further detecting shows that Folius was involved in the collapse of other buildings. Decius concludes that a conspiracy of highly placed politicians was involved in the scam with him. Decius is determined to bring all the perpetrators to justice even if it means putting his own life on the line.

John Maddox Roberts places his heroic protagonist in the last years of the Roman Republic where crime, corruption and violence are at an all time high level. Decius, politically astute and delightfully devious, uses unique methods to see that justice prevails. The author has meticulously researched Roman history making readers feel like they are actually events that are happening now.

Harriet Klausner

John Maddox Roberts' latest tale from the late Roman Republican period is satisfying on all accounts. We catch up with Decius Mettelllus, one of the few men in Rome, it seems, with some principles, and his struggles with the nasty, scheming, vulgar and dangerous boys and girls of the big city. Mettellus has returned to the capital after a provincial tour of duty and is in good form as he climbs the political hierarchy while attempting to keep his many enemies at bay. It's a fun yarn with plenty of research by the author to accurately capture the social and political events of the period. Maddox Roberts rarely misses with this series and this is one of the better recent stories.

Decius Caeciius Metellus the Younger finally becomes an Aedile. With this office, he becomes responsible for community maintenance and improvements for roads, bridges, and sewers. He must enforce building codes and rules for prostitute houses. He also is responsible for planning public entertainment, like games, plays, and festivals. Two problems exist. First, if he ever hopes to hold the more profitable offices, Praetor, Propraetor, Consul, Proconsul, or Censor, he must have a successful aedileship or the people will not vote for him. Second, most of the cost of his work must come from his personal funds, since the state allots very little money to these tasks.

Just as he begins to learn his new job he is told that the sewers are clogged with trash, sewage, and even dead bodies and that he can expect the Tiber river to flood soon. His predecessors have ignored the sewers for at least five years, but he will get all the blame or credit. If the Tiber floods the sewers will back up all over Rome.

Then a tenement building collapses and crushes more that 200 people. When Decius investigates, he finds proof that building codes were violated for that housing, and that the collapse may have been deliberate. Were prominent citizens or Decius's family at fault?

In this book, John Maddox Roberts teaches several Roman customs that were new to me. It seems that slaves were the primary tool of gossip. Citizens simply did not speak or act carefully around slaves. Slaves heard and saw everything, even very confidential information. Slaves shared their information with other slaves and soon everyone in Rome knew a persons private business. Even Caesar could not have an affair without everyone knowing.

Being a businessman was not considered "honorable" in Roman culture. Honorable wealth was obtained only from the land or by actually making a product connected to land or nature. The least honorable professions were banking and finance. Making money from money was considered scandalous.

The River God's Vengeance is an interesting read. The action is rapid and exciting, and the historical picture of Rome in 70 B.C. is vivid. I recommend this book.

All about corruption in ancient Rome, and it will corrupt your notion that ancient history is dull. This is another story about Decius Caecilius Mettelus Jr. the devious. That is to say, he is not your straight-forward corruptible Senator in Rome--and who wants that?. Decius takes a realistic (view of his beloved Roman Republic as it became the plaything of grasping, wholly politicized patrician families, his sometime-patron, C. Julius Caesar foremost among them (although not on-scene in this episode of Decius' climb up the political ladder). His realism gives these books their wry humor, since Roberts really knows, or can imagine, his Roman history and personalities as well as Suetonius ever did. Roberts is able to make their penchants and peccadiloes, or superstitions and monstrous sacrileges, understandable to us moderns.

This adventure of Decius takes place in Rome during his busy year as aedile--which means Roberts guides us into the infrastructure and underground of the city: building codes, the streets, and "best of all" the sewers. As guardian of everything mundane in the city, Decius' prime crime problem in this story is a conspiracy of shoddy construction that is killing Rome's citizens (and of course could catch Decius if he is not careful). Not to mention that, as aedile, he is also responsible for putting on the games that pacify the cityfolk...at his own considerable expense. Already rich (or at least his father is), Decius has to go immensely into debt on behalf of his powerful family, because only the magnificence of his games will earn him the votes necessary for higher office (see SPQR VII). And the lenders only got their riches corruptly and expect Decius to pay back more than just money.

Coincidentally the Tiber River through Rome is rising toward one of those hundred-year events that threaten to back up the sewers and to undermine the very foundations of the city, or at least certain suspect buildings. Right, the aedileship is not a pretty experience. In the course of Decius' overlapping troubles this year 701 of Rome, we learn about his duties, theater buildings, a whorehouse, document keeping, river fishermen, and of course the opportunities for graft and corruption. This is more of a police procedural--the aedileship perfectly suiting Decius' thirst for justice--than it is a mystery with clues. The suspense is more how Decius will survive his powerful new enemies as he investigates deeper among the incredulous and affronted perpetrators of fast-buck construction. In the background is the animosity between Caesar and Pompey that affects everyone's social and political alignments, and the ahem, wealth-building opportunities each might provide, if only Decius wasn't so d----d honest. This series is just such a fun way to learn abut Rome while following the career and adventures of an entertainingly cynical commentator, protagonist, and "hero."

I enjoyed this book and I enjoy the entire series.

It follows the history of the period through the activities of an individual. One comes to be interested in him and think of him much like a contemporary man. He is not a contemporary and occaisionally reminds the reader of this.

You do not have to be an avid student of the Roman republic to enjoy this book. But it may create just such an interest

I luved this book. Other than the fact that it had some disgusting parts in it, it was very interresting.

The whole series featuring Gordianus is sweetness for the eyes and the intellect. I was sad to finish the series.